Children enjoy 'A day out in the woods' at Holly Hill

Last Updated:
30th October 2017

Last Updated: 30 Oct 2017 4:04pm

More than fifteen primary school children enjoyed ‘A Day in the Woods’ at Holly Hill near Birling on Tuesday 24 October thanks to a joint educational project run by the Kent Woodland Employment Scheme (KWES) and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council.

The scheme is the result of a £10,000 grant from the Postcode Local Lottery, which was awarded earlier this year to fund repairs to footpaths, install way marking, create glades in the woodland, and provide working days for volunteers as well as events and activities for local residents and school children.

The children taking part in the event learned how to build a woodland den, cook sweet chestnuts, make pine cone bird feeders and saw how wooden poles for way-marking were made. The Borough Council’s Ranger team helped the children to learn more about the woodland habitat and the plants and creatures that live there. KWES foresters demonstrated how trees are coppiced and created a glade in part of the wood to let light in to improve the woodland habitat.

The ancient woodland at Holly Hill is owned and managed by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council under a Forestry Commission England approved Woodland Management Plan.

Cllr Maria Heslop, the Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Community Services says: “The beautiful woodland at Holly Hill will benefit hugely from the work KWES will do by coppicing to let light and air to the forest floor. This in turn will allow trees to continue to grow and provide excellent habitats for plants and wildlife. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to work with KWES to provide this educational day out in the woods – it looks as though the children had a wonderful time.”

KWES’s Chairman Allison Wainman says: “This is the first of several events that will involve the local community over the coming months. Preserving our woodlands is so important and we want to encourage more visitors and volunteers to help look after our forests for future generations.”

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